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Offerings for the Temple

¹ Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace will not be for man, but for the LORD God.² Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God—gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and slabs of marble—all in abundance.³ Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:⁴ three thousand talents^(a)(a) of gold (the gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings,⁵ for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the LORD today?”⁶ Then the leaders of the households, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.⁷ Toward the service of God’s house they gave 5,000 talents^(a)(a)(a)(a) and 10,000 darics^(a) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.⁸ Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.⁹ Then the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer of Blessing

¹⁰ Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.¹¹ Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.¹² Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and to give strength to all.¹³ Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name.¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.¹⁵ For we are foreigners and sojourners in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.¹⁶ O LORD our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy Name, and all of it belongs to You.¹⁷ I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.¹⁸ O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.¹⁹ And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly praised the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.

Solomon Anointed King

(1 Kings 1:32-40)

²³ So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.²⁴ All the officials and mighty men, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon.²⁵ The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been bestowed on any king in Israel before him.

David’s Reign and Death

(1 Kings 2:10-12)